Yeah Lincoln's summer special got 12% in the ratings if I remember correctly, which is a good result. But as with most television industries in the world, survival of TV shows depend on ratings and Lincoln did not rate well in its final years. I remember reading that the Lincoln finale did not even crack double figures, which is not a good result considering the occasion and the class of comedians they had on the show, headlined by Downtown. There really isn't any other reason.

Definitely ratings are the most important thing and Lincoln struggled towards the end.

I've also read that Lincoln cost a lot, 1. Because of the level of the cast (all 4 pairs are decently senior and accomplished comedy duos + Yamaguchi in the beginning) and thus they had to pay a lot of high salaries, and 2. In the earlier years, they spent a lot of money on big budget extravaganzas. Like huge sets and constructions and inviting a lot of guests as well. And most of these were one-off or two-off things. Very few became long, repeated series (where you could reuse the sets and constructions). So later in the show's run, they had to keep cost low, which resulted in a lot of series and segments that were just too low key. They tried to rely purely on the comedy and star power of the cast at that point, but IMO the actual segments had too little creativity and thought put into them. In theory, a "let's just put comedians together and let them riff and ab lib" can work, but Lincoln failed towards the end, perhaps due to haphazardly designed segments, not branching out enough in the guests they invited, or a lack of that strong, "je ne sais quoi" chemistry between the cast (note that the actual cast who appears on screen changes a lot episode to episode due to availability and the size of the regular cast).

It was a huge shame to see Lincoln getting the ax. Sure it was an ambitious project where different comedians or geinins got together and did stuff. Simple as that. Such 'stuff' could be anything, and perhaps that lack of focus on certain subject or genre played against them.

As Typesoshee says, coordinating so many people with different and tight schedules in other TV channels is also extremely hard. In front of the cameras, they seem to have a nice chemistry, even the Yoshimoto Kogyo members from Kansai with those from the Kanto area. They appear in other programs together as well, so I don't think it's a matter of rivalry between them. Unlike Gaki, the focus was still on Downtown, but the work of the other members were usually highlighted.

Japanese TV is (almost) all about the ratings. Such information can be incredibly devious and the figures won't be 100% accurate (like popularity indexes and DVD sales) but there are way more entertainment shows out there offering different styles like more celebrities, interviews, games, crazy performances or whatever. Lincoln wasn't able to keep with that level. However, I believe that the main reason of its cancellation lies in the fatigue and time-consuming effort from our beloved geinins, who decided to step on the brake pedal.

There's just one more thing. At the end of Lincoln finale, they mentioned a "see you later" and they mentioned a surprise upcoming project later that year on TBS. I thought it was going to be Lincoln's heir. What happened with it?

atreyu_tiger wrote: In front of the cameras, they seem to have a nice chemistry, even the Yoshimoto Kogyo members from Kansai with those from the Kanto area. They appear in other programs together as well, so I don't think it's a matter of rivalry between them. Unlike Gaki, the focus was still on Downtown, but the work of the other members were usually highlighted.

Gaki has that "je ne sais quoi" chemistry that works. Probably because they've been together for so long. For Lincoln, I feel like Downtown, Summers, and Miyasako had good chemistry. Not quite with the rest. They're fine when everyone's participating equally, but when it comes to free flowing interaction, I feel like the others either couldn't keep up or deferred to the older guys (Miyasako being the exception). It's not that they didn't like each other on camera. But they never reached that high level of chemistry that makes a segment where they're just driving around in a car consistently get more than 10% ratings.

Also, my feeling is that other shows that have been doing well have a focused purpose, are more topical, and definitely get young tarento as well as non-comedians on to interact with comedians. Lincoln was sort of "traditional variety" in that their goal was to do "regular" funny things on TV and most of the guests they invited were just other comedians. Perhaps this is considered kind of stale in Japan nowadays. Non-comedians interacting with comedians definitely feels different and can feel very fresh compared to comedians interacting with comedians.

I'd say lasting eight years as a relatively traditional variety show with that big of a cast and huge projects was already a big feat in itself.

Personally I think Suiyoubi no Downtown has been a great follower as Downtown's show on TBS. The format is pretty different (Hamada as MC, Matsumoto as regular commentator and random comedians/celebrities as guests and presentators) and in general the focus on VTRs is heavy (though they actually show full screen reactions, which is thankful in this age of "wipes"), but it still manages to be really entertaining. They've even got few times on the news by tackling some questions that had unexpected results (like the issue of expensive anatomical model statues being mandatory for schools despite nobody actually using them as teaching material). As the show as it is now, I'd say it has a more clear aim and random guests keep it fresh (though few people including Tamuri Kenji, Takeyama (Cunning) and Koyabu Kazuto are pretty much semi-regulars). That being said, the show hasn't been on air for even a year yet and I have no idea what kind of ratings it has had, so it's hard to say how long it will last.

Not seen Suiyoubi no Downtown at all yet. Any subbed?? I think they do LINCOLN specials from time to time. Like they do with Hey! Hey! Hey!. Hope they do a No Sat Nav one! or Midnight Radio! Don't know if they will do a Bakusho! Dainippon Akan Keisatsu special. But this is one of my fav bits Downtown getting ratted out!

But HEY!HEY!HEY! just got a 20th live anniversary aired, and LINCOLN had 2 I think. It would be great if they did a Midnight Radio special based on the first one, where they all heard sad stories with bittersweet songs.